50 Business Ideas PDF
50 Business Ideas PDF
50 Business Ideas PDF
BUSINESS
ideas
FOR THE NEW AGE
entrepreneur
SHRADHA SHARMA
Dear Aspiring Entrepreneur
You’ve shown that you are different. You are an action taker. Since
I started YourStory, we have covered 80,000 startup stories, met
thousands of founders, investors and policymakers. Having a
strong action bias is the common denominator among all of these
people and you, which makes YOU, a good fit to become an
entrepreneur.
But don’t worry, I want to be with you through your journey, and I
want to see you succeed. That’s why I’m going to send you a
sequence of emails designed specifically for this journey, so don’t
forget to check your emails and add me to your contacts.
Good luck!
1
CONSULTING
Consulting can be for just about any skill or area of expertise that
you’re ready to offer for a fee to those who need it. From building an
app to getting a design for a studio apartment, customers can get
anything done on a consulting platform.
Since your services are mostly a product of your mind and presence
(physical or virtual), you needn’t go through the additional expense of
having an office. In these times, your web and social media presence
speaks the most about you. You can offer your consulting services
through your website, by sending out cold emails or messages through
any of the social media channels and networking sites, or by cold-
calling too.
Being articulate and expressive can help you build your personal brand.
You will promote your services online for the most part, and a
significant part of your earnings as well energies goes into advertising
your services. To scale up, add more partners, consultants or
freelancers to your team as needed. Again, networking counts a whole
lot!
This is a great option for people who possess the needed know-how and
the knack to help others understand concepts. Studying through online
tutorials at one’s own pace is all the rage now. Students, professionals,
business people, retired people – everybody takes classes online on a
variety of topics.
If you have authority on a topic and want to spread knowledge, you can
register as a teacher on any of the popular teaching portals. In some
cases, you can make up your own course materials, conduct tests, and
guide students towards standardised certification. This will give a lot of
satisfaction besides also filling up your productive hours with success
stories.
You get to keep flexible hours, and also teach as per how busy you wish
to be. Getting your first few students should be your first goalpost, and
your popularity can spread from that stage. It’s possible to club
students together in batches, release material in bulk, or repurpose
content to suit different course – so it is scalable to a large extent.
A little bit of a tweak into your looks and persona gives the confidence such a
boost, that it is certainly worth trying. You can be that person giving people
makeovers and helping them see themselves in a favourable light. Apart
from fashion advice you can give tips on the colours that suit their
complexion, the hairstyle that would complement their face shape,
suggestions on footwear and clothing sizes, and lots more. A few sittings
with you would give your clients better gait and more confidence. You can
also offer tips on conversation starters, etiquette tips and ideas on how they
can develop their personality inwardly.
Invest in yourself primarily so that your face, body language and clothes
exude confidence. Learn how to groom yourself, invest in a powerful
wardrobe and practice a killer smile.More than a degree, this is about poise,
self-awareness, deep empathy and understanding of subtle body language
cues. These observations will help you offer the best tips to each client. It is
possible to give advice one-on-one or get a corporate contract where you
address people in group settings.
Publicity done by satisfied clients can spread quickly. Your aim would be to
reach the top business people, professionals, government officials and
leaders in the society.
The human capital in the organisation is the one that needs utmost
nurturing. Everything else depends on how employees and top brass
act day in and day out. Human resource consulting can help bring out
the best in them so that each decision they make is for the betterment
of the organisation, business, and industry.
-Degree in HR INR
-HR software like ZOHO 4,00,000-7,00,000
People, PeopleWorks
6
RESUME WRITING
Hiring managers are notorious for the short span of time they spend
scanning a résumé. This is not about to change anytime soon – given
the pressures of recruiting fast. A résumé written professionally by a
person who is conversant with both the language and the needs of a
hiring manager makes life easier for both applicant and recruiter.
You need to have a penchant for research and express the candidates in
clear, simple words – enhancing your claims with valid numbers.
The web has taken over our lives but there is a way to streamline the
content we’re exposed to – and this is carefully shaped through digital
marketing. It follows simple logic – the most relevant content should
appear topmost on a search engine, and it is the SEO consultant who
makes that happen.
Any and all business these days hire SEO consultants to make their
webpages web-friendly, user-friendly and attractive. SEO convinces
users to take affirmative action whether it is joining a membership or
buying something. Learning these steps is easy provided you’re
interested in detail work and are quick to learn.
SEO evolves over and over and major changes come quite regularly –
and an SEO consultant has to stay current on all these developments.
You can branch off into teaching SEO, or hire more people to handle
more clients. Small businesses and solopreneurs will appreciate your
services – and you still don’t need an office.
Within the same student-group or age group, you can take as many
students as you’re comfortable handling in one chunk of time. You can
fill your entire day by scheduling classes with care. This business plan
is scalable to a large extent.
This is a job you’ll find appearing everywhere. The role you perform can
range from sending out emails, scheduling events, and catering to all the
professional needs of busy business people, leaders and public figures.
You will be their first point of contact in the virtual space, and in some
cases, their spokesperson.
Expect to get on board with the job immediately as you get trained and
learn on-the-job. Virtual assistants are often involved in content creation
that demands subject-matter research, fact checks, finding images and
collating all of it into a finished piece. The key is in promoting your
services relentlessly. This will help you get fresh clients. Plan and
schedule them during your day (or night). Be honest about your
availability and you can scale this up to full-time hours!
If you know how digital marketing works but think it’s too much
trouble to sell something of your own, sell other people’s stuff! It’s
really that simple – employ your marketing wisdom to generate sales
for say, Amazon, and take payment for your efforts. Mind you, you only
make money when purchases happen, so be warned of the terms and
conditions of the affiliate network/channel you’ve decided to join.
You can become the point-person for getting the product ready for the
open market. This is relevant to retail marketing where everything from
the store’s ambiance to the services/amenities provided on the shop
floor, and the packaging are engaging to the customer.
Product branding specialists have many ideas like offering freebies,
samples, or contests on the packaging in an attempt to snag the interest
of the buyer.
It is recommended that you grow slowly and gather pace as you gain
more experience. This is the surest way to garner repeat clients. Growth
possibilities are high when retailers are out to set up promotional
campaigns.
Aesthetic sense and tech skills combine in this area to produce a vision
that’s both appealing and technically sound. Video editing is easy if you
are computer-literate. It calls for patience to adjust frames. You can go
a step further and curate content that suits your client’s requirements
too.
You can freelance and build enough of a customer base to earn a living.
It is possible to increase business by offering other multimedia services
for text, audio and pictures. All this can be done from your private desk
with no need for an office.
Your main investment will be your time and all the learning you will put in
– the types of soil, the combination of sunshine and shade each cultivar
needs, where you will get the best seeds, and what other nutrients you can
add to ensure a fine crop. If you do this right, you will be left with fresh
organically grown produce that you can trade in the market. In time, a
larger scale of greenhouse farming can ensure a regular supply of fruit and
veggies which you can supply to your local grocer.
To start supplying and trading, you first need to get the ‘India Organic’
certification – a label given if the produce meets the standards of NSOP –
National Standards of Organic Production which was established in the
year 2000. The Certifying Authority is Agricultural and Processed Food
Products Export Development Authority (APEDA). With the right natural
inputs on converted land, ensuring no contamination, use of sustainable
practices, the production can be scaled up and you can spread the impact
you build.
Everything is going online these days, but many companies prefer to stay
away. This player is especially useful to the existing companies that are
hesitant about entering the space of virtual selling. An expert in the
virtual domain can help build the business’s web presence and guide them
on how to provide their products and services online.
If the inner child is you is always hankering to come out, you couldn’t
do better than set up a pre-school. You do not need any specific
qualification, but training in the Montessori method can be a great
start for your pre-school.
If you would like to set up an institute with several training rooms and
other investments, you need to check the viability for your chosen
industry. In some cases, a remotely placed set of students who log in
regularly to receive knowledge transfer through teleconferencing is
possible. This means you don’t need to set up an office! Save on all the
rentals and costs while gaining on a per-hour or per-project rate.
When you make a name as a corporate trainer, you will get projects and
gigs specific to your area and you can choose depending on how busy
you wish to be.
-Certification/degree INR
and experience in the 4,00,000-11,00,000
subject
17
VOICE OVER SERVICE
Pure audio files also have a good impact when told right. When the
medium is radio, announcers or jockeys can make a tidy packet by
using tone and voice appropriately. They can even act with their voices
and make listeners feel present in the moment.
This simply means you find people who wish to sell their businesses
and connect them to prospects interested in buying a business instead
of building it from scratch. You act as a directory of small (or big)
businesses and liaise between interested parties.
You are a broker who can find a suitable-sized businesses for those
who are in the market. This means you should keep yourself in the
know, and work actively to make deals. When you have good deals to
find and keep going, you can earn a percentage on the sale, in
addition to upfront fees. Brokers are the ones ready to do the legwork,
get a good price for the sale, and help get it done fast. They have all
the connections, so you need a good network.
At the beginning you can charge per hour for your strategising advice
and services. As you gain experience and take on bigger projects, you
can charge per deal. This business is scalable as your network
develops.
Raising funds for a cause is a noble enterprise, but not everyone has
the acumen to get people to sign cheques. For these business people
who are too busy to do the actual task of fundraising, a consultant who
has an understanding of who to approach and when can be a boon.
With the growth of numerous chains of retail stores, salon services and
restaurants in the market, many business aspirants are looking to join a
chain to reap the benefits of the brand image. Since obtaining a
franchise contract is an elaborate process, and assistance from a proper
consultant in how to log a tender or request for information is critical
in reducing processing times.
As the nutrition guide, you would have to know how the human body
works – especially the digestive and excretory systems. A large part of
your investment is the course you take; it must provide certification
and essential learning. This is a business that can be done mostly from
home, and with occasional visits to speak at conventions, participate in
health and wellness conferences and programmes, and to coach clients
one-on-one at their homes for demonstrations.
This means you only carry products from suppliers that you trust.
Organic stores can carry anything from soaps, cosmetics, and personal
care items to food (perishable and long shelf life). You can even start an
organic store from home if you plan to sell a limited number of items,
and wish to specialise in them. Look for suppliers who have Organic
Trade Association Licence or become a member yourself to increase
credibility in the market. Other examples of highly profitable
commodities are basmati rice, dry fruits, nuts, and even snacks.
Geographical advantage is crucial – you can sell more if your stock is
available at prime locations.
Once your licences are in place, increase your stocking budget to include
more variety and reach out to more customers. Promote your store
online and offline to make more sales.
The next time you’re at the brink of giving a friend advice on what she
should spend her professional life on, take a moment. See if your
education, career experience and current stage in life allows you to do
this full-time for a fee/paid membership. Career counselling doesn’t
stop with telling someone to pick one career over another, nor does it
start there.
There are many fitness academies that offer fitness certifications after
rigorous practice and test routines. You also need to be aware of
calorific values, dietary intake, and some understanding of the human
physiognomy – the bone and muscular structure. When you have the
right understanding of these factors, you are less likely to cause injury to
yourself, or to anyone you wish to guide on the path of fitness.
The good thing about starting a fitness coaching business is that you
don’t have to set up an office/gym immediately. You can offer your
services as a personal trainer to groups or families, or even one-on-one.
Once this works out, you can start your own studio.
If you have experience with direct sales, fieldwork, on the shop floor, or at
conventions, it is time you converted all your tricks and tips into a handy
training course for up-and-coming sales personnel. Selling as a process
begins long before you make a pitch. It’s about studying prospective
customers, understanding the ideal buyer persona, and making it work so
that both buyer and seller walk away from the deal happy.
As the sales trainer, you teach your students effective techniques of selling
– things to say, making the right gestures, and logging up a high rate of
conversion. There are subtle non-verbal cues, body language tips, and
‘reading the situation’ which many newbie sales people have to learn
quickly. You can help them do that.
Growing through your teaching materials is certainly possible when you
offer value. Sales managers would be happy to recruit you for their
training needs if you network well.
You can teach martial arts like karate, Taekwondo, Jujutsu, or just a
few boxing moves. To start teaching, you must have professional-grade
training and certification to prove that you’re an authority on the
subject. You also need to be fit and alert so that you are convincing in
the story you plan to sell.
Some agencies and clients might want to see credentials and proof of
your language proficiency before they hire you to speak for diplomats.
It makes sense to have a certificate and ensure that it is current/
renewed every few years. This helps you stay on top of your game.
Your skin reflects your health. Given the increasing levels of pollution
and hormonal upheavals the body goes through, skin needs external
help to remain smooth and soft. This can begin at home itself, but the
knack is to know what simple kitchen pantry ingredients can help in
cleansing, toning, and moisturising.
For instance, exfoliating is a big part of skin care, and it can be done
with a little rice flour and turmeric mixed with milk or rose water. This
is a great scrub that you can put together in minutes. If you have such
cool tips that can help people get rid of dullness, pimples, oily T-zones,
or callused elbows, consider skin care consulting.
At first, you need to set up a Facebook page (or group) and channel
your wisdom into a blog. A website comes at a later date. You can even
offer personalised consultations to followers for a fee. As you keep
adding tips, your blog can become popular enough to attract a regular
batch of clients. Conduct webinars or Q & A sessions through Facebook
Live – the outlay is zero.
The internet has made geography expendable and the fitness industry
is no exception. There is a huge scope for those with interest and
expertise in fitness and nutrition to extend their services through the
world wide web.
You can look at getting paid for keeping your clients motivated and
focused on getting to their fitness goals. All you need is a good fitness
record for yourself and an active social media presence.
There are various mediums through which you can conduct your
services and it can start with something as simple as a WhatsApp
group. You could opt to create a website that showcases client
testimonials and online appointment booking facilities. As a fitness
instructor you would also have the opportunity to endorse brands that
you think have great quality and give results.
A tiffin service is to a hassled office goer what moms are to their kids...
everyday saviours! Between hectic schedules and unhealthy fast food
options, the office goer is perpetually on the look-out for a wholesome
and affordable daily meal option.
The market is filled with brands offering meal plans and balanced diets,
but there is always scope for those offering authentic taste that reflects
their culinary traditions.
Focus on quality, word of mouth will get you more clients than
anything else. Create easy to implement meal plan options and list with
an aggregator like Meal Tango. Reach out to friends and family who
love your food to start you off. Once you are comfortable with the
process you can scale up your client base.
The only thing more stressful than being a parent who has to work is
being a pet – parent who does. Fur babies need a lot of love, care and
attention.
According to India Pet Care Market Analysis 2016 – 21 the pet care
market is set to grow by 17 % in this time period. So if you have a love
for pet animals, then this is the business for you!
Start with one service and add more along the way. Pet sitting, pick up
and drop, day – care / vacation – care services are options to explore.
An open space at home could then evolve into commercial spaces.
All this with an online presence will set you up for success.
Hectic schedules leave little time for elaborate weekend plans. A space
with a good mix of interactive play activities where parents can relax as
well is sure to be a success.
There are few things more beautiful than the joy of motherhood.
Among the host of services aimed at making those nine months
comfortable and safe for the mother and baby, the most sought after
are exercise and birthing classes for pregnant women.
A good personality and the ability to go that extra mile is what will set
you apart from regular hospital consultations.
Home based yoga classes are also quite popular. Certifying yourself
with unique yoga variations like Aerial yoga or Iyengar yoga would help
you offer a very specific range of yoga practices.
If you have had a sound career in the financial sector then becoming a
financial planner is your road to success. Start a blog where you can
write about FAQs that generally figure on people’s minds.
While financial goals are broad and mostly the same (everyone wants to
own a home, go on vacations, drive a nice car), each person’s individual
needs are different (Where will the home be, what kind of vacation,
which car?)
Your expertise and reputation will be built on how well you can help
people set realistic goals and guide them to achieving those.
Looking good isn’t just for humans, their pets can steal the show too! If
you are great with four-legged friends and love turning them into
picture-perfect cuties then starting a pet grooming salon is for you.
Cute hairstyles, pawdicures and spa sessions are all part of the
pampering they lavish on their pets.
Experience with handling them is a must, but if you are an animal lover
that should not be a problem. There is an investment required in terms
of space and basic equipment.
A social media page that showcases your pet clients would help
popularize your work. Associate with pet clinics and pet food stores to
reach your target audience. Pet shows are also a great place to meet
prospective customers.
A highly altruistic personality and the ability to offer advice and sound
counsel are prerequisites in embarking on this career path. An honest
approach to creating value will help you gain the trust of your clients.
You can use many mediums. Seminars, one on one sessions, book
writing, motivational videos, podcasts etc are various options being
used by life coaches and mentors.
While being a life coach may bring you a huge success, it also entails an
even bigger responsibility. So taking this up also means you take
ownership for your actions and their influence on others.
Once you are able to deliver effective results you will find your client
list growing. Post which you can invest in a website and showcase your
portfolio and client roster for greater success.
Everyone gets frantic around tax season. For a lot of people filing taxes
is a time consuming and unappealing chore. Proving a service that
takes it off their hands is a great way to earn cash during the filing
periods.
There is tax software that you can invest in to make this easier and
more scalable. Building an atmosphere of trust is vital so that your
client base stays loyal.
Social media has made photography an integral part of our daily life.
However, when it comes to capturing special moments, events or
creating content, people turn to professionals. There is a lot of
competition in the field, so you must identify a niche to create a
lucrative business.
There is a scope to create your unique style or trademark that you can
be known for in your niche segment, and that could give your business
a phenomenal boost.
The world has become a smaller and more interesting place. With
budget travel becoming the norm, travellers are on the lookout for
affordable places to stay and experience a place. If you love playing host
and meeting new people, then being an Airbnb host is just the thing for
you.
An Airbnb host not only gives a visitor a space to spend their stay, but
they are also part of the experience that the traveller has. Authentic
meals, city tours, personal shopping experiences are part of the guest
experiences you can offer.
Those who love to cook and experiment in the kitchen could look at
sharing that love and making a business out of it. Cooking classes will
never go out of fashion as long as the love for good food endures.
Everyone feels like snacking in the day. Kids and adults alike reach for
the munchies, but often the options are not healthy. If you are great at
experimenting with and creating tasty and healthy snacks for your
family, then doing it as a business may be a great idea for you.
If you have great products, demand will increase and you can hire help
as you go along. This business has the potential to be a great success.
With good work and great references, you can build a highly successful
venture.
Each industry has its own criteria and payscales. A startup does not
have the bandwidth to identify and recruit based on current market pay
scales. This results in them taking bad recruitment decisions and being
stuck with the wrong talent which is a waste of their precious money
resource. Your experience in the field could help them solve that issue.
Choose your product categories based on what you think has good
potential. The dropshipping concept can operate in any product
vertical, including garments, toys accessories and electronics.
You will have to protect your business from quality risks and customer
poaching by putting in some safeguards like private label shipping or
customized packaging slips.